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The Populous of Six States Will Receive Care from the Neo Sorrisos Mobile Unit

9/6/2016

The Populous of Six States Will Receive Care from the Neo Sorrisos Mobile Unit

Curitiba, 06 September 2016 – To spread new smiles around Brazil this is the objective of Neodent to provide six Brazilian States with personal care via the mobile unit to promote oral health care. The Project which goes by the name of Neo Sorrisos (New Smiles), consists of a tractor unit and two mobile clinics which will pass through the States of Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás and Bahia, from June to December 2016.

In a national scenario in which a large part of the population has already lost one or more teeth and still have not received proper treatment(1), the idea for the project launched by Neodent is to make an initial dental assessment in the mobile unit and, for cases that require more specific treatment, Neodent will recommend regional dentists for the ongoing treatment* of patients after the Neo Sorrisos project leaves the city. The intention is to promote health and to educate the populous to the fact that, nowadays, carrying out dental implant treatment will promote self-esteem and quality of life, and that it is also more affordable than many might think.

For the first stage of the project country cities were chosen, where as a general rule information is slow to arrive and where the company considered that such action would bring more benefits to the population. Another point also taken into consideration was the available dental structure for the region and as such Neodent could motivate the local dental network to provide more interaction between patients and dentists.

Such criteria was defined by the Company aiming to bring better health and information to a portion of the populous that, for various reasons, do not have easy access to more advanced dental treatment, which is generally concentrated in the capitals or close to them. This is a transitional project but one that desires to leave a legacy, as after the mobile unit leaves, it is hoped that patients will benefit from continuity of the treatment process.

Matthias Schupp, CEO of Neodent, relates how the unit is intended to operate: “The support of our clients will be crucial. We created this project not only to bring patients more information on implant treatments but also to bring them closer to dentists, stimulating the local economy of places visited. Our intention is to provide initial care at our mobile unit in order that the patient can continue with their treatment with a local dentist within their city”.

The mobile dental unit is equipped with two dental clinics which will count on the care of Neodent professionals and local volunteer dentists. As such, in addition to get closer to its clients the Company plans to offer special concessions for the purchase of its products to those that take part in the project. “We want to motivate the entire chain of operation to work in support of this project. We want to open up new paths, we want to bring new smiles to the Brazilian populous and ensure that dentistry implants become more well-known day by day throughout Brazil. This is the reason why Neodent is investing in various areas and this is one of many other projects that we have to raise awareness throughout the country”, said Matthias.

“Neo Sorrisos benefits from an extensive structure which supports the simultaneous operation of two clinics. We always want to take a Neodent professional and invite clients of our Company who operate in the city in which the mobile unit is located to make up the care team. Besides two dentists we have a team of more than 6 people who are dedicated to the operation of Neo Sorrisos from prior disclosure to operation and actual care given in the cities selected”, explained the person responsible for the project, Dr. Sergio Bernardes, Dentist, Master and Doctor of Oral Rehabilitation for the Federal University of Uberlândia, USP/Ribeirão Preto with collaboration from the Eastman Dental Institute, London.

Neodent expects to pass through 11 cities within 6 Brazilian States and calculates that more than one thousand patients have attended. It is an audacious project which has broad aspirations for the Company. Pablo Prado, CMO of Neodent outlines the expectations for the project: “Our commitment is to promote dental health and we believe that investing in the dissemination of knowledge is the way forward. This is one of the main projects of our Company for the current year and we hope to bring many smiles to the patients of our country, in addition, raising awareness of our brand. It is a project which demonstrates the concept of partnership: our entire team is broadly dedicated and enthusiastic about the idea while we also count upon our clients who will benefit from the opportunity to strengthen relationships with their current and potential patients, whereas local authorities have already shown their support for the project and, as a result, we have so far attended to more than a thousand satisfied patients with more than a thousand smiles spread throughout Brazil”.

The company has plans for the future of Neo Sorrisos, “We began this project this year but our idea is to expand the scope of Neo Sorrisos in the future to other countries, as it is a unique project seen worldwide and, who knows, to have more than one mobile unit, everything will depend on how the project proceeds this year, and as such we consider partnership with our clients and patients fundamental”, explained Matthias Schupp.

Morretes is the first city within the State of Paraná to receive the Neo Sorrisos project

Beginning in the city of Morretes on the Paraná coast the mobile unit will be cited at the Events Centre for the City, located at Praça Rocha Pombo, during the period of the 27th of July to the 8th of August, offering free assessments, indications for treatment, dental cleaning and guidance on oral health, also to occur by means of talks from volunteer dentists from the City and region. For more information on activities within the City of Morretes, interested parties can enter into contact with us via e-mail at: neosorrisos@neodent.com.br.

(1) The Situation of Oral Health within Brazil

This Neodent project is consistent with the needs of the country. National Health Research (PNS) published in 2015 showed that Brazil is still far from an acceptable level of oral health which results in a high edentulous concentration of 11% (those without teeth) within its population.

The greater part of this number are men (13.3%) along with 8.4% of women which make up this population; among this group are people of 60 years of age and over. Further data which shows an impact on oral health is that 23% of Brazilians have lost thirteen or more teeth and another 33% use some type of dental prostheses.

National Health Research is a partnership between the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Ministry of Health (MS) which is the result of around 80 thousand household visits in 1,600 municipalities throughout the country since 2013. This research also shows that among Brazilians over 18 years of age who sought oral health care, 74.3% turned to private practices.

Further interesting data showed that 89.1% of those interviewed brushed their teeth at least twice a day, whereas only 53% used a tooth brush, tooth paste and dental floss, and 46.8% changed their tooth brush at least once every three months. Of those individuals that used a tooth brush, tooth paste and dental floss the percentage of men was 48.4% and of women, 57.1%.

Oral Diseases

This serious oral health scenario within Brazil has many consequences for the health of individuals. International research related to cardiac pathologies and diabetes, among other diseases, show that such are exacerbated by the lack of dental care.

The lack of proper and adequate dental hygiene leads to a build-up of bacteria that may move to the circulatory system, carrying with it infectious and inflammatory diseases. Even where restricted to oral pathologies the neglect of oral hygiene can cause periodontal diseases, affecting the gums and over time, the loss of supporting tissue for the teeth.

Alternatives

Where the patient already has problems which affect oral structures such as the gums and tissues that support the teeth, and also in cases where the patient is already edentulous, a better alternative for improvement in quality of life is the fixing of dental implants.

The possession of a beautiful and healthy smile impacts on various day to day issues. As to health, in general, it promotes better digestion and also favours self-esteem, since studies have shown that insecure people tend to avoid smiling and become more withdrawn. In such scenarios dental implants provide a solution in the majority of cases.

The first step to find out the most appropriate dental treatment is, without doubt, to consult a professional. “Dental flaws do not only comprise of the question of nourishment and aesthetics. Vacant spaces in the mouth may lead to the misalignment of other teeth as well as to displacement of the chin toward the nose and may trigger other consequences. Due to the problem of chewing the individual also tends to consume more creamy and liquid foods which may also compromise their dietary nutrition”, said scientific advisor, Dr. Sergio Bernardes.

Dental implants can be used in virtually all cases that require replacement whether for one or more teeth. “We have cases of replacement for one tooth due to loss or extraction and also to form the entire dental arch, for patients that used removable prostheses, for example”, said Dr. Sergio Bernardes.

As concerns the cost, duration of treatment and the durability of dental implants, the consultant brings good news. “The dental implant dentistry within Brazil is very advanced. Worldwide, we are the second placed country, only behind the United States of America, for the performance of dental implants. We have excellent specialist developers and national technology that permits for more assessable treatment than in years past. Treatment is faster. In most cases treatment will be complete in less than a month. And, best of all, such solutions are ever more enduring, lifelong”, said the specialist, as such there is a need to get to know the professional well and the product used.

About Neodent

Neodent, throughout its more than 20 year´s history, contributes to thousands of new smiles everyday. The proof of such is the important milestone achieved by the business in 2015, when it returned extremely impressive figures for the oral health market, selling, for the first time, 1 million dental implants within Brazil, and became the only business in the segment worldwide to sell this number of dental implants within one country. In 2015, Neodent intensified its international expansion project, inaugurating, in the second quarter, a unit in Bogotá, Colombia, and another in Buenos Aires, Argentina, comprising in total a structure of 6 international branches. In 2016, the process of expansion will continue with the opening of subsidiaries in Canada, Chile and France. In Brazil, the business maintains highly skilled technical support throughout the country via a team of professionals which amounts to over 200 business advisors, 16 shops, 2 distributors and 6 distribution centres – a unique structure for the segment which does not exist in other countries.

* Neodent will provide free dental care at its mobile unit. However, where patients need to continue treatment with a regional professional, such treatment may incur costs.